Will Artie Lange Be Back on ‘Howard Stern’ Monday?

Since we wrote last week about comedian Artie Lange's jaw-dropping blowup at his assistant on Howard Stern's Sirius radio show, the Internet's been abuzz with speculation as to what will happen when the show returns from vacation on Monday.

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Since we wrote last week about comedian Artie Lange's jaw-dropping blowup at his assistant on Howard Stern's Sirius radio show, the Internet's been abuzz with speculation as to what will happen when the show returns from vacation on Monday. In the comments to our post, Stern fans have been debating whether Lange's departure from the show should be made permanent. "Sirius is a corporation," writes kensurfs. "I also work for a corporation; and the one sure thing that I know is that workplace violence gets you fired, no excuses." But, writes geminte, "Artie Lange isn't Bobby Knight representing a major university. He's a comic who fits perfectly with Stern's style and is loved by his listeners. I hope he comes back to the show after their hiatus." (He also hopes "that New York Magazine joins the likes of Life Magazine in the very near future".)

Stern fan blog the Howard Shrine is claiming to have inside information that Lange is gone for good, and "new comedians will begin auditioning for his job when the show returns on Monday." If Lange is gone, which semi-crappy comic will replace him? Newsday's Pet Rock blog breaks down five contenders, including Robin Quivers's reported boyfriend, Jim Florentine. Speaking of Quivers, on Fox 5 earlier this week, she denied that the Lange explosion was a publicity stunt, saying, "I wish it was!"

On Lange's MySpace page the comments are split between those taunting Lange for his foolishness and those supporting him. On the other hand, user joe enuf points out that Lange likely doesn't even check his MySpace page — it was his assistant, Teddy, who did that, and now that Lange's been fired for attacking Teddy on the air, it might not get updated for a while.

And what does this all mean for the Stern radio show? Commenters on our original post are debating that as well. "The show is now a parody of itself," writes giatime, who accuses Stern of being "completely out of touch with reality." On the other hand, notes johnstans1, "In an age of neo-conservative talk radio, he's oddly the lone liberal voice with a wide audience. Granted, his liberalism is interspersed with strippers, fights between employees and making fun of retarded people, but his point of view is still refreshingly unique."